The Detroit Lions and quarterback Matthew Stafford have struggled against the Minnesota Vikings over the past few years, and the timing coincides perfectly with head coach Mike Zimmer’s hire in January of 2014.

The Vikings present significant challenges for the Lions offense. They are athletic and they bring pressure from a variety of places, all with the intent to cause confusion and chaos, and to make the opposing quarterback uncomfortable.

Zimmer runs exotic looks on defense and it can be confusing to figure out, even after watching the same play over and over. It’s hard to imagine decoding this in real time. In the seven games the Lions and Vikings have played since Zimmer took over, the Lions have averaged 17.6 points per game, and they have not scored more than 22 points in any game these teams have played.

The Lions traveled to Minnesota in Week 4 and won a tight, low-scoring game 14-7, but Stafford was under pressure all day even with the...